Fanboy Fantasies - Capcom vs. The World

Marvel vs Capcom 3 art Iron man ryu Morrigan Wolverine HulkFanboy is a column about gaming what-ifs, hopes, dreams, and the inevitable realization that we will probably never get what we want.  But it’s always fun to speculate!

In April, Capcom shocked the world by announcing the sequel we all wanted but never thought we’d see: Marvel vs. Capcom 3.  The Vs. Capcom series is always filled with surprises: another recent one is releasing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom in the America, which many thought would be a licensing nightmare.  Capcom has crossed paths and punches with four companies: comic book titan Marvel, legendary Japanese animation studio Tatsunoko, fighting game rival SNK, and even Namco in a Japanese-only RPG.  But what other companies should Capcom square off against?  Here are five that I’d like to see.  Keep in mind, I hope for all of these to be fighting games (sorry Namco x Capcom).

Square-Enix vs. Capcom

The most famous RPG makers have a portfolio of interesting and iconic characters that would make any company jealous.  They could just do Final Fantasy vs. Capcom and they would be enough content and interest there.  But as Capcom uses these crossover fighting games to use underutilized or forgotten characters, it’s also a good opportunity for Square to do the same and maybe garner up some interest for their less popular franchises.  Put in Aya Brea from Parasite Eve, we haven’t heard from her in a while.  Or maybe some characters from the Mana series.  But we can’t forget about the big hitters.  Cloud vs. Ryu.  Sora vs. Dante.  Sephiroth vs. Mega Man.  Similar to Dissidia, maybe the twist on this game could be some RPG or character building elements.

Jump vs. Capcom

Jump refers to several magazines published by Japanese conglomerate Shueisha.  Many famous franchises have made their debut in these magazines, including Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Naruto, Death Note, Slam Dunk and dozens more.  A fighting game series of video games similar to Smash Bros. using these characters is popular in Japan, but they weren’t released elsewhere due to licensing issues.  Despite this, I’d still love to see a traditional 2-D fighter with Jump characters and Capcom characters.  Ryu vs. Goku, need I say more?  The fighting game Jump Ultimate Stars had an interesting “koma” system, where you can make teams of characters and give them certain boosts and bonuses.  I think this idea could translate well into this game and give players a lot of customization over their characters and teams.

Konami vs. Capcom

Similar to Capcom, Konami has a multitude of famous franchises in a variety of genres.  Characters from Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Suikoden, Castlevania, Contra and more could appear in this brawler.  And like Capcom, they have many forgotten titles that they could dig interesting characters out of.  I’m not sure about what kind of features and gimmicks the title should focus on, but don’t you all want to see Solid Snake fight Dr. Wily?

Sega vs. Capcom

Sega has been publishing several crossover games lately, with their most famous characters doing everything from racing to competing in the Olympics.  Yeah, yeah, Sonic vs. Blanka or something would be fun, but I think the real appeal would be the Virtua Fighter characters.  Virtua Fighter is one of the deepest and most realistic fighting game franchises out there, and it would be interesting to see how they mix with Capcom’s colorful and bizarre fighters.  Although I can assume Ryu vs. Akira fights might get a bit confusing and players will complain about how they don’t know who is who.

LucasArts vs. Capcom

Not only does LucasArts have many popular gaming characters like Sam & Max, Guybrush Threepwood from Monkey Island, and Zak McKraken, but they also own the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.  Vader vs. M. Bison for control of the galaxy is a battle no one wants to miss.  It would probably mostly focus on Star Wars characters, but there are enough interesting characters there to make it fresh.  Plus, Vader and Yoda already have fighting game experience thanks to Soul Calibur IV.